New to Blu: November 2-8

Bridesmaids bursts on to Blu-ray this week with the theatrical cut of the hit comedy and an extended version that’s five minutes longer and raunchier.

“The high-def transfer comes with a beautiful, squeaky-clean appearance and a golden, amber sheen, giving the film a quirky but upbeat air that’s very pleasing.”

“This is a very bright film featuring lots of rich colours, and some of the more elaborate scenes really pop off the screen (the party sequences in particular look fantastic).”

As for the audio, “a shockingly dialogue-heavy mix is clean and pristine, but don’t expect much by way of surrounds”.

The rest of the week’s releases are largely divided between back-catalogue and direct-to-disc.

The Blu-ray 3D of The Lion King at last is out while a year after the international release, the first two Shrek movies finally bow here on Blu-ray – albeit for a fairly steep price of $40 each.

You can also buy the Back to the Future movies separately on Blu-ray as of Wednesday, with each instalment selling for a far more reasonable $20.

Standing out in the deluge of direct-to-disc newcomers are the war in Afghanistan documentary features, Armadillo and Restrepo, and the 2011 BBC documentary series about the history of the Royal Navy, Empire of the Seas.

Also new are Prom, Kill the Irishman (“a strong, reference quality transfer”), The Gundown, The Howling Reborn, Everything Must Go and the latest freaky creature-features, Dinocroc vs Supergator (“this epic clash of titans looks simply excellent in high definition”) and Dinoshark (“irritatingly messy”).

Music fans can choose from Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon, Peter Gabriel: New Blood and A Musicares Tribute to Neil Young, and for WWE buffs there’s Randy Orton: Evolution of a Predator.

If you prefer ‘toons that are slightly more alternative than Lion King and Shrek, try Lego Star Wars, Eden of the East Movie 2: Paradise Lost, Freedom Series Collection and Dragon Ball Z Kai Collection 4 and 5.